A clear theme from the Labour Party conference was the growing demand for British bus manufacturers to be prioritised in public procurement
Alexander Dennis, one of the UK’s largest bus producers, recently announced a consultation that could threaten 160 jobs in Scotland
By Andrew Garnett
Political pressure is mounting to adopt a ‘Buy British’ rule in bus procurement, following growing concerns about the impact of foreign competition on domestic manufacturers like Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and Wrightbus.
It comes after ADL, one of the UK’s largest bus producers, announced a consultation that could threaten 160 jobs in Scotland (PT321). The Larbert-based company suggested recent government zero-emission bus funding has favoured international manufacturers at the expense of UK firms.
ADL pointed to the influx of buses from ‘lower-cost’ economies, including Chinese manufacturer Yutong, which has won several major UK contracts in recent years. Despite record levels of government funding to promote zero-emission transport, ADL claims that these policies have disproportionately benefitted foreign competitors, leaving UK manufacturers at a disadvantage.
The situation has reignited calls for a ‘Buy British’ policy to be applied to public procurement in the bus sector. The best known international example of this is the Buy America Act in the United States. Under the legislation, vehicles procured with public money must meet stringent conditions, with two-thirds of the cost of all components coming from American manufacturers.
Those favouring a similar requirement in the UK argue that such a policy would safeguard domestic jobs and ensure that UK government investment supports homegrown companies. However, a degree of flexibility would be required due to the closely knitted European and UK supply chains.
A more applicable model could be the rules of origin which are applied to cars entering the European Union. At present they must have 40% of their parts by value sourced in either the European Union or the UK. The rules will become stricter in 2027 when the requirement rises to 55%.
Similar moves in the UK rail sector a decade ago demonstrate the potential benefits of such a policy. When the government introduced stricter requirements for local assembly and production, major international rail companies, including CAF, Hitachi, and Siemens, responded by establishing manufacturing facilities in the UK.
The new administrations across England want to see public money remaining in the UK
Buy British would be a significant boost for British bus manufacturers like ADL and Wrightbus, which have been leaders in the development of low-emission and zero-emission buses in the UK. However, both companies have faced mounting challenges in recent years due to overseas competition, particularly in the race to supply electric buses.
Supporters of a Buy British rule argue that it would help protect UK jobs and ensure greater control over the quality and security of supply chains. With global tensions rising and concerns about reliance on overseas production increasing, advocates believe that fostering a stronger domestic manufacturing base is crucial to ensuring long-term sustainability in the UK transport sector.
The topic was high on the agenda at the Labour Party’s conference in Liverpool last month. An insider who attended the conference told Passenger Transport: “A clear theme that transpired from this new Labour government was that the new administrations across England want to see public money remaining in the UK due to the value Labour sees in UK jobs, skills and technologies.
“The general consensus was that this should be seen as a way to recycle investment through public tenders going forward as a way of contributing to the ‘growth’ agenda identified as one of Labour’s key missions for the new administrations.”
When he launched Bus Back Better, England’s national bus strategy, in March 2021, then prime minister Boris Johnson pledged to deliver 4,000 new “British-built” zero-emission buses.
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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The post Calls to ‘Buy British’ increase at conference first appeared on Passenger Transport.